


A Change In Plans

by afteriwake



Series: And Now I'm Learning You [5]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 04:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2010624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas morning and Molly has plans for the day, starting with the tradition she's had for the last few years. But her plans go awry when she's called into work and while it's a very long and tiring day, in the end, it turns out to be a rather good day indeed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Change In Plans

She woke up early, much earlier than she normally did. It was like it was hardwired into her brain that on Christmas morning she should get up at the crack of dawn. She could see some light coming in through her window, but not much. She laid in bed for a few minutes, reflecting on things. So much had changed in the last few months. If someone had asked her in September how she thought she would spend Christmas she would have said alone with her cat. That was certainly not the case now. She wasn't alone, for one, and she had actual plans this year.

She attempted to get out of bed but Khan tightened his hold around her waist. They'd slept near each other ever since the first time they'd been intimate, but lately he had been extremely close when she would wake up before he did. It didn't happen often, and most times she drifted right back to sleep and didn't try and move, but it was quite obvious he'd gotten used to actually sleeping with her as opposed to just sharing a bed. This did not normally pose problems for her but right now she wanted to get up and go through her own personal Christmas morning ritual. She moved her hands slightly and tried to lift his arm up since it was locked around her waist at the moment.

“You know, I'm not asleep,” he murmured. “I'm comfortable right now, though.”

She chuckled slightly and then tried to roll over to face him. He loosened his grip enough to allow her to do that. “I want to get up, though.”

“You never wake up this early,” he said as he opened his eyes and looked at her.

“It's Christmas,” she replied.

“You say that as though it's supposed to mean something to me,” he said, giving her a look that she knew meant he was still annoyed with the whole idea of Christmas. She found his distaste for the holiday quite amusing, which just seemed to annoy him more.

“Well, it's my favorite holiday of the year, and I start it off by waking up and listening to the radio and having a cup of coffee while I stare at my tree. It's my own personal tradition.”

“You could always change traditions this year,” he said in response. “I take it most years you're alone when you get up this early?”

“Yes,” she said with a slight nod.

“Well, as is evidenced by the fact we're having a conversation at the moment you aren't alone _this_ year, so you should stay in bed for a while.”

She gave him a grin. “And just what would you have me do in bed, hmm?”

“I'm fairly sure I don't need to explain it to you,” he replied. “Or if nothing else, sleep and let me lie here for a while and stay close to you.”

“You have stayed awfully close lately,” she said, her grin turning into a more speculative look. “Why is that?”

He was quiet for a few moments in response. “Do we need to have this conversation?” he asked finally.

“Maybe not right this minute, but eventually,” she replied. “I really want to know.”

He looked at her intently and then sighed. “When we went to Alfava Metraxis, part of me hoped the black hole was there, or at least another one was, and I could go back to where I came from. I would have gone back to being a prisoner but at least I would be there and I could try and protect my crew. And then the Doctor went into the cavern and you followed and I realized the Weeping Angels could have easily taken you and sent you back in time or back to my home universe and there would be no way for you to come back. I would be alone again, and I didn't want that.”

“You realized you could have lost me,” she said softly.

“I don't like admitting it, but yes, that was what I realized. And then I realized if I went back I would most likely lose you anyway, and I thought it might be better to stay.” He tightened his hold on her again. “You are important to me.”

Her eyes widened slightly. He had said his crew was family, and for him to say he would stay meant he valued her more greatly than she had realized. “I don't want you to abandon your crew,” she replied.

“If I go back I would have to submit to being a prisoner. It would be bearable if you were with me, but the stark reality is that my crew and I would never be free. And chances are you would be threatened as well, if Admiral Marcus decided I wasn't doing every last thing he wanted me to do. You shouldn't have to live that kind of life.”

She moved closer to him, close enough that their bodies were touching. “Why am I so important to you?” she asked quietly.

“I don't know. I just know that you are.” He looked at her intently. “May we stop having this discussion now?”

“All right,” she said with a slight nod. She thought, or at least she hoped, that maybe the reason he felt this way went beyond the reasons he'd given her before. She hoped it meant his feelings went deeper than simply being attracted to her. Because if she wanted to be completely honest with herself she was fairly sure she'd fallen in love with him. She never expected him to admit it if he had; even with the changes he'd made in his personality, even just the ones she'd seen, she knew that he wasn't very comfortable expressing anything that was emotional. The conversation they'd just had showed that in obvious detail. Still, even if it didn't happen she was happy with what they had.

“Are you going to insist on getting out of bed?” he asked.

“I can put it off for a little bit,” she said with a smile.

“I can convince you to put it off longer than that,” he replied.

“You can try. There are plans in place for the day,” she pointed out.

He sighed. “Yes, I'm aware of that. I am not relishing having to spend any portion of my day with Kirk.”

She was quiet for a moment. “You two really don't like each other, do you?”

“No, we do not, and no amount of the rest of you throwing us together is going to change that. He and I are like oil and water. If I could avoid his presence here I would, and I doubt it will ever get easier for the two of us to be in the same room together.”

“Promise me there won't be fighting today,” she said. “No snide remarks, no arguing, no fisticuffs in the backyard.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Fisticuffs?”

She gave him a mild glare. “I mean it, Khan. If you ruin Christmas for me I'll do something drastic.”

“While I think it would be very interesting to see what measures you would consider drastic I promise I will behave, so long as the Captain does the same.”

“Even if he doesn't, don't sink down to his level.”

“If he attempts to hit me I will defend myself,” he replied. “And I can guarantee he'd be unconscious in less than three minutes if it came down to that. Then it wouldn't be a problem for anyone.”

She gave him an exasperated sigh. “Fine. But only if he tries to hit you first. Otherwise leave him alone.”

“Very well.” He observed her for a moment. “I should be convincing you to abandon your plans for this morning and spend more time here with me. But I think the mood has been ruined.”

“Maybe not,” she replied. “If you try you might find I could be convinced.”

He used his body to push her onto her back, hovering over her slightly. She moved her hands so she could settle her hands on his shoulders as he leaned in and kissed her. She still felt a thrill run through her no matter how often this happened, a sense of satisfaction that he had picked her to be with. Whatever it was they had, however serious it became, she had the feeling she would not regret beginning this relationship with him. After a minute he moved a hand to her side and began to inch up the shirt of his she had worn to sleep in the night before. He'd gotten it bunched up to her waist when her mobile began to ring. He pulled away from her and glared at the phone. “I may very well kill whoever is calling you.”

“No, you won't,” she said, moving her hands to push him back towards his side of the bed. With a sigh he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling as she reached over for her mobile. She answered it, and the more she heard the more her heart sank. Finally she hung up and pushed the covers off of her. “I have to go into work.”

“This early in the morning?” he asked, sitting up more.

“There was a massive accident on an early morning ferry,” she said as she got out of bed. “At least fifteen fatalities, and that's only the best guess right now. Everyone is coming in today. I don't know when I'll be done.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I'm sorry your plans have had to change.”

“It's all right. If I'm done in time I'll go by Amy and Rory's to join everyone. But you don't have to go if it looks like I won't be able to make it. I won't put you through doing that without me.” She moved to her closet and pulled out a shirt and a pair of trousers, and slowly she began to get dressed, her heart heavy. She had hoped that maybe because she wasn't alone this year she could have an enjoyable holiday but it didn't appear that this would be the case. She got dressed quickly and then went to her drawers and pulled out a jumper, slipping it on before grabbing a pair of socks and putting those on. Then she began to look for her shoes.

“They're in the sitting room,” he said, pushing the covers off of himself and getting out of bed.

“Thank you.” She started to make her way to the door but he moved in her path. She looked up at him in response. “I have to hurry and get into work.”

“What is the one thing you love most about this holiday?” he asked.

She gave him a slightly confused look. “I'm not sure. I've spent the last few Christmases alone. I suppose enjoying my tree and talking to the people I'm close to. And it's always nice to open presents, I suppose, not that I've done that much in recent years.”

“All right,” he said with a nod.

She leaned in and kissed him softly. “I'll be home when I can.” He moved out of her way at that point and she made her way downstairs, finding her shoes with ease and slipping them on before putting on her coat and scarf. She didn't even stop to make coffee, deciding to pick some up on the way. And then she left her home, heading towards the hospital while making a detour for some much needed caffeine. She made it into the morgue and when the other specialist registrars arrived they began coordinating what each of them were going to do. And then the first bodies arrived and they began to work.

It was nearly fifteen hours later when they were finished. She ached and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and curl up next to Khan and ignore everything until she needed to wake up and do it all again the next day. She made her way home and let herself into her home. The first thing she realized was something smelled as though it had burned. She took off her scarf and hung that and her coat up before making her way into her home more. “I'm back,” she called out. There was a clatter in the kitchen and she made her way over there. The minute she saw it her eyes widened. It looked as though it had been hit by a natural disaster of some sort. Khan was there, looking quite defeated. “Oh, my,” she said quietly.

“I attempted to cook,” Khan replied. She put her hands over her mouth as she tried not to laugh. He gave her a mild glare. “I don't see how this is amusing.”

“It's just...” she said with a smile, doing her best to not even chuckle. “It was a nice attempt at a surprise.”

“I don't know how you do it so effortlessly. Using a replicator is much easier.”

“Well, I've been doing it for a long time,” she said, moving towards him. “It really is the thought that counts. Thank you.” She got to him and kissed him softly. “Was anything edible?”

“No,” he replied.

“Then we'll see if we can get takeaway and leave all of this until the morning. I'm allowed to come in later tomorrow so I can get some rest.”

He nodded. “Amelia brought over your presents. And some for me, apparently.”

“I have presents for you, too,” she said. “I put them under the tree a few days ago.”

“I have one for you,” he replied.

“You really didn't need to get me anything,” she replied, surprised. “I mean, you've more or less said you're not fond of anything leading up to this holiday all month. To be honest, I was going to consider you going along with my Christmas plans present enough.”

“Well, I was told it was the appropriate thing to do. But you're the only person I bought something for.”

She nodded. “I'll open yours first, then.”

“I'll go get it.” He moved away from her and after a moment she went to the takeaway menus she had on the refrigerator. She called one, hoping they were still open, and she was relieved to hear someone pick up. She was still placing her orders for the two of them when she heard Khan return. When she was finished she hung up and looked at what he was carrying. It looked to be a small package, and when he handed it to her she took her time in opening it. Finally she got the paper off and saw it was a jewelry box. Her eyes wide, she opened the box, and immediately looked up at him. “I'll admit, I had help,” he replied as she lifted the necklace out of the box. There was a small pendant with a blue stone on it on a silver chain. “Amelia thought you might prefer something understated that you could wear all the time and not just on a special occasion.”

“This is perfect,” she said with a wide smile. “What type of stone is it?”

“A sapphire,” he replied.

“This might be the nicest piece of jewelry I've owned in a very long time,” she said softly. “Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome,” he said with a nod. She handed him the necklace and he looked confused for a moment before she turned her back to him and swept her hair back. He unclasped the necklace and then put it around her neck before clasping it again. She turned around when he was done and looked over at him. “It looks nice.”

“I am definitely going to show you how much I appreciate it,” she replied, moving close to him. “That definitely made my day brighter.”

“Good.” He was going to reply when she yawned. “Are you tired?”

She nodded. “I suppose I am.”

“Go to bed. I’ll take care of the food and join you after it’s been put away.”

She nodded. “Thank you.” She gave him a soft kiss, and then she pulled away and headed towards her sitting room. She paused after a moment, though, and then she turned around. “Khan?”

“Yes?” he replied, looking up at her.

She gave him a wide smile. “You really are very good at this relationship stuff. I know you thought you wouldn’t be, but you’re doing a magnificent job. I don’t think I tell you often enough.”

He looked surprised at that. “Thank you for telling me now.”

“Don’t be too disappointed if you get upstairs and find out I’m already asleep,” she said as she turned around, yawning again as she finished the sentence.

“Get some rest,” he called after her. She kept the smile on her face as she made her way to the stairs and up to the bedroom. This holiday hadn’t gone at all how she had expected, she thought to herself as she fingered her new necklace, but at least she was happy regardless.


End file.
